Analysis and Result Confirmation of Cohesive Subgroup Structure among Classmates

This article utilizes social network method to analyze the relationships among middle school classmates of several classes in Wuxi, Jiangsu. Software including UCINET and NetDraw generates designated number of cohesive subgroups within the classes and the process of subgroup division and development is studied. With Girvan-Newman Algorithm, q-value of each subgroup is calculated and confirmed by each class teacher’s feedback on the characteristics of each subgroup. Parameters including Degree, EcCentricity, Closeness and Betweenness of key individuals calculated by software Cytoscape prove to largely correspond with the description of the class teachers. KEYWORD: Social network analysis; Cohesive subgroup structure; Classes; Classmates; Information distribution; UCINET; NetDraw International Conference on Industrial Technology and Management Science (ITMS 2015) © 2015. The authors Published by Atlantis Press 760 Figure 1. “Like” relationship network of class A. Generate cohesive subgroups within the “like” relationship network with “Factions”, and the result of five factions is presented in Figure 2. It can be observed that vertices gather together according to subgroups and each subgroup is represented by a distinct color. Figure 2. Cohesive subgroup structure of class A with faction=5. 4 ANALYSIS AND RESULT CONFIRMATION OF COHESIVE SUBGROUP DIVISION With regard to the “like” relationship network of Class A and B, analyze how the cohesive subgroups divide from large to small and compare the theoretical result with the actual situation. 4.1 Class A While the class is divided into two major subgroups (Figure 3-(a)), gender is the main determinant factor of division. The subgroups targeted by the research is generally consisted of one single gender female. When classmates divide further into smaller subgroups, girls number 4, 5, 6, 16, 26, 32, 33, 41 are always in the same subgroup. Even as the total number of subgroups increase, the relationship among these students is not influenced (Figure 3-(b), 3-(c)). According to the feedback from class teachers, students number 4, 5, and 6 are the best friends. Therefore, the female subgroup based on the strong friendship is quite stable.